THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Pupil-Teacher Ratio, or PTR, which is an integral element in the Right to Education Act (RTE), has been a bone of contention between the government and the aided school managements ever since the Act was implemented in state. As per the Kerala Education Rules (KER), which was drafted for aided schools in the 1950s, a teacher can be appointed for every 45 students with the school taken as the basic unit. However, for a second teacher to be appointed, the student strength should increase at least by six to reach 51.
The norm is still being followed for classes nine and 10 where RTE is not applicable as the Act deals primarily with free and compulsory education up to Class 8.Earlier, the student strength used to be physically verified through a head count on the sixth working day of every academic year. The Assistant Educational Officer (AEO) used to oversee this exercise from Classes 1 to 7 and the District Educational Officer (DEO) for classes 8 to 10. Staff strength used to be fixed based on student numbers. This was later replaced by UID-based verification. The managers would appoint teachers based on the revised student strength and get it approved by the AEO or the DEO in the case of primary and high schools respectively.
Post RTE scenario
Classes 1 to 5: As per provisions of the RTE Act, two teachers are required for a class of 60 children. In the case of students between 60 and 90 in a class, the number of teachers should be three. The Act says that for 91 to 120 students, there should be four teachers. The Act also lays down that for 121 to 200 students, there should be five teachers and a head teacher. Classes 6 to 8: One teacher should be appointed for every 35 children. There should be one teacher each for science, mathematics, social studies and languages. In case the number of students is above 100, a full time head teacher and part time instructors are required for art education, health and physical education and work education.
The legal battle
When the government refused to ratify appointment of teachers based on revised PTR norms laid down by the RTE Act, the aided school managements took legal recourse. Both the single bench and the division bench of the High Court upheld the management’s stance. “There is a hidden danger in the argument of the state that the school should be adopted as the basic unit. If the total strength of the students from the Class 1 to Class 5 is between 61 and 90, it will be possible for the government to run the school with three teachers. This will run counter to the objective and purpose of the RTE Act,” the division bench of the High Court ruled in 2016. The High Court had also ruled that the requirement of minimum working days or instructional hours as stipulated in RTE Act would not be met if the PTR, with school as a unit as suggested by the government, is implemented. The verdict of the High Court was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court as well.